We begin with Parashah Lech Lecha’s title verse, “And Elohim said to Abram, ‘Go yourself out of your land, from your relatives and from your father’s house, to a land which I show you. And I shall make you a great nation, and bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing! And I shall bless those who bless you, and curse him who curses you. And in you all the clans of the earth shall be blessed.’”

Abram, Sarai and Lot were now living in Haran where their father/grandfather Terah had taken them. Elohim told Abram it was time to implement His plan to bless the world by filling it with people who loved and obeyed Him, doing whatever it took to qualify for the Resurrection. By now it was obvious that all people would live short lives and then die and Elohim would have to resurrect the ones He wanted in His forever kingdom. In order to help future people understand all this, Elohim created an historical picture that could be used to teach the spiritual principles—who did what, where, when, and why—and inspired a Bible to be written to tell us about it. This plan included, among many other things, sending Yeshua into the world to deal with the serpent and his followers at the end of time. We are not sure if Abram understood all of this, but he did know that he and his descendants were to own the land of Canaan. His ancestor Noah had promised this land to his son Shem (and descendants, of course) but instead it was taken by the cursed son (Canaan) of Shem’s brother Ham, much like dominion of the earth had been stolen by the serpent who caused Adam and Eve to sin. We believe Abram also knew that his job would include dealing with the consequences that Ham’s grandson Nimrod brought on all of mankind at the Tower of Babel. Some of Abram’s story involves spending time in Egypt—which was settled by another of Ham’s sons, Mitsrayim. We don’t have stories about Ham’s son Put, but his descendants seem to be associated with northern Africa and Persia (Iran) who also gave Israel a lot of grief. Are you starting to get the picture? Abraham was raised up to become the “firstborn” who would be his “brother’s keeper” and be used by Elohim to provide for His chosen people on this earth and to populate the Kingdom to come after the Resurrection.

Did Abram lie when he told Pharaoh that Sarai was his sister, even though she was his wife? No, but he did not tell the truth either. Genesis 20:12 tells us that Sarai was his half-sister because she was Terah’s child by a different mother. Abram was afraid Pharaoh would kill him in order to take Sarai because she was so beautiful. Elohim plagued Pharaoh’s household to make him understand that he must not touch Sarai—so Pharaoh rebuked Abram for his deception, gave him a lot of stuff, and told him to take Sarai and get out of his country. Abram and his family went back to Canaan.

By the time they settled at Bethel, Abram and Lot had become so prosperous that their servants started bickering over pastures for their livestock so badly that something had to be done. Abram told Lot to choose where to move his people and animals so they could all have more space. He didn’t care which part Lot took; he just trusted Elohim to give him the part he was supposed to have. After Lot made his choice and moved, Elohim spoke to Abram and told him to look around because everything he could see would belong to him and his seed forever. In fact, he would have so many descendants they could not be counted—like you cannot count dust. Abram explored the land as Elohim commanded, and he moved his tent to a place that is mentioned several times in Scripture—“the oaks of Mamré” or “the terebinth trees of Mamré” which are at Hebron.

Lot looked around and chose what appeared to be the better land in the plain around Sodom and Gomorrah, which turned out to be his undoing. He ended up being captured by some kings that were battling over the area. The whole of chapter 14 is taken up with an explanation about this battle. Verse 13 tells us, “One who escaped came and informed Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamré the Amorite, brother of Eshkol and brother of Aner, and they had a covenant with Abram.” So Abram armed his 318 trained servants and went after Kedorlaomer’s coalition until he had recovered “Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.” He also “brought back all the goods” that the kings had taken. The king of Sodom tried to negotiate with Abram about the spoil, saying Abram could take all the goods but he wanted the people. Abram didn’t want the king of Sodom to think he had made him rich with all those goods, so he said he had made an oath to Elohim not to take any of it—but that Aner, Eshkol and Mamré (all Amorites) could have their portions, besides whatever the soldiers had eaten.

Melchizedek showed up at this point and blessed Abram. The text tells us that Melchizedek was the king of Salem. He is not listed amongst the several kings that were involved in the battle that engulfed Lot. Salem was a city-state that eventually became Jerusalem, major city of Israel and foreshadow of the New Jerusalem where the resurrected will get to live. “Salem” means “full, complete, safe, whole, and peaceful” which certainly describes the beloved city of the Most High El! See how everything is related?